Mothers who nurse their baby and especially first–time mothers worry whether their baby is getting enough milk. However, only a small percentage of women aren’t able to produce the necessary amount of milk for their baby. This is extremely rare, though. If you notice that your baby is not gaining as much weight as he/she should, or if you notice that he/she is losing weight, then certain tips on how to increase the breast milk production may be helpful for you.
How to Produce More Breast Milk Naturally
1. Just Keep Nursing
The best way to increase the production of milk is the suckling of the baby. Normally, the production of milk is tightly regulated and the more your baby sucks, the more milk production is stimulated over the long run. Nurse your baby as much as you can in order to naturally increase the milk production.
2. Nurse Skin to Skin
Whenever you nurse your baby, the best thing to do is to nurse skin to skin. This means that you should take off your t-shirt and bra, while your baby should be only with diapers. Wrap a blanket around both of you and continue to nurse your baby skin on skin. This will not only increase the milk production, but, it will also bond the baby to you in an incredible way.
3. Put No Time Limit to Nursing
Do not limit the time for breastfeeding. Try to give your baby as much time as he/she needs and even try to give your baby both breasts during each feeding. This will increase the overall production of breast milk.
4. Don’t Use Pacifiers, Bottles or Food
During the first 6 months of your baby’s life, breast milk through breastfeeding should be the only food. Pacifiers, bottles or even solid food should be avoided as much as possible as they tend to reduce hunger, which makes the baby less likely to nurse. This is an important thing to remember when learning how to produce more breast milk naturally.
5. Get Enough Sleep and Avoid Stress
For mothers with a newborn baby, this might sound impossible. However, getting enough sleep and avoiding stress are the best things to do. Try to nap when your baby naps and get all the help from your partner, friends, and family when it comes to cooking food for you, doing the laundry or all the other daily housekeeping tasks. If you manage to get enough sleep and stay relaxed, the better the milk production will be.
6. Watch Your Diet
Breastfeeding mothers should pay a good attention about what they eat. Certain types of food will increase the milk production and they should be widely consumed. Vegetables of every kind, dry fruits, and nuts, oats, porridge, as well as, different kind of seeds will stimulate the milk production naturally. Drinking plenty of fluids a day is also very important. While breastfeeding, women require about 500 calories more a day.
7. Take Some Helpful Supplements
Different supplements and medications are available for stimulating the breast milk production. However, before trying any of these a good idea is to consult with your GP first. Fenugreek, calcium, green powders or even alfalfa are known to be good natural milk boosters.
8. Pump in Between Nursing
How to produce more breast milk naturally? A good way to keep your breasts stimulated is by pumping them. Consistent pumping between nursing periods will stimulate the breast milk production. Each breast should be pumped about 10 minutes. Between 2-5 a.m. the production of breast milk tends to be higher, so pumping during this period is highly recommended.
9. Make Sure Latch Is Right
If for any reason your baby is not latching correctly, he/she will not get enough milk and the milk production itself will not be stimulated as it should. Different problems could lead to a wrong latching of the baby like inverted nipples of the mother, baby being tongue tied or lip tied, etc.
10. Switch Breasts or Double Feed
Breastfeeding the child requires some special techniques and skills that every mother will gain along the run. Give your baby both breasts, until the breasts are drained off, as this will stimulate the milk production. Double feeding is a good alternative to breastfeeding the baby from one breast, taking a burping break for a couple of minutes and then continuing to breastfeed the baby on the other breast. The burping break will help your baby release the gas bubbles, making more room for milk.
11. Try Taking a Nursing "Vacation"
Take your baby to the bed with you and just focus on breastfeeding the child for a day or two. Take this as a vocation of you two and leave everything else behind. This precious moment will relax both the mother and the child, as well as it will stimulate the milk-producing hormones.
12. Try Massaging the Breasts Gently As You Nurse
Newborn babies often tend to fall asleep while breastfeeding, especially if the milk flow starts to slow down, even if they don’t have enough to eat. However, gentle breast massages and breast compression will help the flow of milk to continue, once the baby starts falling asleep.
You can also learn how to produce more breast milk naturally by eating the foods introduced in this video.
Precautions
Different medical conditions can affect the milk supply while breastfeeding your child. Talk to your GP in cases when:
- You have had a breast injury in the past.
- You have had a breast surgery in the past.
- You have lost a lot of blood during and after childbirth.
- You have still a fragment of the placenta inside of the uterus. If this fragment of placenta is not removed or passed out, the breast milk production may stop.
- You have a hormonal disorder, like high levels of thyroid hormones or low levels of thyroid hormones.
- You are taking certain medications like pseudoephedrine, decongestants, combined contraceptive pill, etc.